The second iteration of the Freedom Convoy, dubbed the "World Unity Convoy" will gather in Winnipeg, MB from February 17 to 21 to celebrate the Freedom movement's achievements of the previous year.."We will be inviting groups from all over the nation to join us in unity for a better future for children across the world and within Canada," announced convoy organizer 'BigBear' during a Facebook livestream on Christmas day.."We're going to be inviting whoever wants to join us — multicultural and multi-spiritual — on this journey, and we'll be updating you as we go.".The organizers said the World Unity Convoy is being held in Winnipeg because it's the "middle point in Canada," allowing people from coast to coast to join in.."We'll be able to convoy across the nation. And we'll build momentum from the west coast of BC to the east coast, and we'll meet in the middle of the heartbeat of Canada," they said.."And we have convoys coming from the north and the south," added organizer Ron Clark..BigBear acknowledged that the World Unity Convoy was initially supposed to be held in Ottawa, ON again. But last week, Ottawa's new police chief Eric Stubbs said there will not be a repeat of the 2022 protest that took over the city's downtown for three weeks.."We will be ready. The ultimate goal of all this planning and preparing is to ensure that what happened last year doesn't happen this year," Stubbs said. "We feel that we're in a place right now where given the information that we have, that our preparations are well in hand.".That led World Unity Convoy organizer and independent journalist Andy Lee to notify the Ontario Provincial Police that they likely wouldn't be gathering in the nation's capital again. "The likelihood of the Freedom Convoy returning to Ottawa in February is very low at this point," she said..However, James Bauder, the founder of Canada Unity, claimed a World Unity Convoy will drive past Ottawa on the Highway 417, allowing Ottawans to join in. "This is a very special gift for the Ottawa residents. We feel you very much wanting to come and join in a celebration of convoys, and we're always coming to you," he said..Lee said next year's convoy will not take the form of a protest, but will be a "commemoration and celebration of achievements."."I’m sure there will be elements that protest, but that is not [the organizers'] core objective," she told the Western Standard. The original Freedom Convoy, which was formed to protest COVID-19 vaccine border mandates, played a crucial role in pushing federal and provincial government to lift pandemic restrictions.
